Terri Egan Recognized for Commitment to Improving Efficiencies and Customer Service and Achieving Cost Savings Through Technological Advancements

Terri Egan, Executive Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, was presented with the Hugh L. Carey Leadership Award for Outstanding Public Stewardship for her strong commitment to enhancing services for New Yorkers through technology, partnerships and collaboration. Egan is the eighth recipient of the Award, which was presented this week by the Center for Digital Government and Government Technology during the New York State Digital Government Summit in Albany.

The award was created in memory of the late Governor Carey. It recognizes a public servant who demonstrates exceptional leadership, dedication and guidance by empowering change to improve the well-being of all New Yorkers.

“This award is truly a testament to the incredible team that we have at the DMV and I share this honor with them,” Egan said. “Our vision is to be a national leader in providing efficient, innovative and responsive government services, and our staff works tirelessly to raise the bar. I feel privileged to have an opportunity to lead the Department forward and I am excited to continue implementing new systems and services that will benefit our customers and our state.”

Executive Deputy Commissioner Egan has been in public service for 20 years. She has worked with the NYS DMV since 2007 and has led the agency since 2015. Prior to joining the Department, she served as Town Supervisor and Town Justice for the Town of Bethlehem.

During her time at the NYS DMV, Egan has created a culture of innovation, and in doing so, has led the agency to become more effective and efficient while providing cost savings to taxpayers.

Under Egan’s leadership, the Department has adopted Lean Program Management strategies to optimize the work of the agency’s individual business units. Each quarter, the DMV embarks on a series of Lean activities designed to eliminate waste and improve various agency processes to deliver faster and easier-to-use services that bring more value to our customers.

In addition, the agency has begun a multi-year modernization project to overhaul outdated procedures and equipment, introduce new and streamlined services, and replace legacy systems with state-of-the-art technology. As part of the initiative, the agency created an award-winning document guide to significantly improve the experience for customers apply for, upgrading or renewing their driver license, permit or non-driver identification. The document guide is an online tool that allows customers to better prepare for a DMV office visit, helping them avoid multiple visits, which reduces office wait times and greatly improves customer satisfaction.

The NYS DMV was also recently nationally recognized for its optimized bulk mail sorting process. In October 2016, DMV Mail Operations purchased a new system for scanning outgoing mail. This allows mail to be sorted more efficiently in-house and reduces the amount of money DMV pays to the U.S. Postal Service for sorting and shipping.

DMV sends out approximately 22 million pieces of mail per year. The new sorting system saves the Department up to 9 cents on every piece of outgoing mail, which adds up to thousands of dollars each day. In just the past year, savings have totaled nearly $680,000, far offsetting the $450,000 cost of the equipment.